Inheritance of a wife whose marriage is not consummated

221

Q: My paternal half-brother died leaving his father and a daughter. He used to work on the farm with our father. He married my paternal cousin, although he did not consummate the marriage, and then my father died. Does my niece inherit from my father? Does my cousin inherit from my brother who married her without consummating the marriage?

A: The daughter of your paternal half-brother, who died before your father, does not get a share of your father’s inheritance. As for your brother’s wife, whose husband died before consummating their marriage, she receives a wife’s share, i.e., one-eighth, of his inheritance. May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.